Pilot studies in the United States are planned with healthcare organizations such as Aetna, Erickson Retirement Communities, the Providence Medical Group in Oregon and SCAN Health Plan. The objective is to assess how the Health Guide integrates with different care management models in the home.

The first studies focus on the ability to demonstrate improved health outcomes for conditions such as heart failure, diabetes, hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Customers such as Advanced Warning Systems, Inc. (AWS), a provider of healthcare discovery products and Web-based services, monitor people for acute cardiovascular symptoms that can cause sudden death.

AWS will use the Intel Heath Guide to connect with a targeted class of users, including retired athletes and post-war veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder, with the highest incidence of cardiovascular related illnesses.

Insurance companies and other payers struggling to contain healthcare costs would be prime prospects for Health Guide, said Mariah Scott, who heads sales and marketing for Intel's Digital Health Group. Scott said that while there are other, similar tools on the market already in use by home care agencies to monitor patients, the Intel Health Guide offers a wider range of functions and "also has the ability to do so much more customization."

"We really believe this system is a new category of device," Scott said.

Intel plans to use the core technology components of Health Guide to build products targeted for new areas such as independent living and programs for health and wellness management and to support new devices such as mobile phones and handhelds.

The American Medical Alert Corporation, a national provider of remote patient monitoring devices and 24/7 healthcare communication services, will be the first U.S. market channel partner for the Intel Health Guide.